The upcoming Planet Textiles Summit to be held at the ITMA textile technology exhibition, which expects over 100,000 visitors over 7 days, will hold three special breakout sessions that deal with some of the textile industry’s biggest and most persistent environmental problems. Supply chain transparency, verifiable and measurable environmental data, hazardous chemical management, and denim – which in the past was the poster-boy for pollution and worker safety will all feature in Barcelona on June 22nd.
Moderated by Kingpins Owner Andrew Olah, with contributions from denim mills owners such as Alberto Candiani from Candiani Denim Mills and Sanjeev Bahl from Vietnam-based Saitex, the session on denim will outline a new ‘Blueprint’ for real change that buyers’ retailers and brands can use as a sourcing guide.
The panel will outline new solutions and technologies that can tackle key issues such as how fibres are sourced, cotton farming and biodiversity along with a controversial “when and how” – and not “if” indigo dye can be removed from denim production. Talks on resource efficiency in production as well as labour rates and how the denim sourcing map will change – with a new development on this, to be exclusively revealed at the event.
Higg Index
Planet Textiles will also feature a timely breakout session on ‘Accelerating Higg’ hosted by new technology firm Higg Co. which was recently spun out from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to increase both the efficiency and scale of the Higg Index throughout global fashion supply chains.
Featuring Jason Kibbey, the CEO, Higg Co., Amina Razvi, Interim Exec Director of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Lewis Perkins, President of the Apparel Impact Institute the session will show delegates how these three organisations intend to work independently – but collaboratively – in a bid to provide a single platform to drive tangible, measurable environmental progress in textile manufacturing facilities worldwide.
Moderated by Linda Greer from the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based NGO that scrutinises and maps textile pollution incidents in China, the interactive session will focus on production facilities – how they can implement, how the new organisations can address previous problems with Higg implementation and how progress can be accurately measured with verified, robust data.
Working to zero hazardous discharge
Frank Michel, CEO of the ZDHC Foundation will moderate a breakout session on the ‘zero tolerance of the discharge of hazardous textiles chemicals’ into the environment and the challenges and practicalities of implementation of the ZDHC MRSL and the harmonisation of wastewater discharge guidelines.
Panelists including Jeff Hsu from Taiwan textile firm Far Eastern New Century; Andrea Crespi from fully integrated Italian nylon fabrics supplier Eurojersey; Phil Patterson, Ecotextile News correspondent and Managing Director of Colour Connections, together with a leading fashion brand (TBD) will explain why the industry should jump on board, what is the business case to do so, and will give real-world examples of how this can be achieved?
At ITMA, Planet Textiles 2019 will also reveal details of several exclusive new announcements on new moves towards environmental progress on chemical management in the textile supply chain – delegates will be the first to know. So why not sign up and reserve your place today.
